A second day of closing arguments in the seditious conspiracy trial of members of the right-wing extremist group the Proud Boys ended with both parties placing blame for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on former President Donald Trump.
In a Washington, D.C., federal court, a jury will soon determine the fate of Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and four other Proud Boys charged with seditious conspiracy, according to Politico. The men are facing charges for a coordinated attack on the Capitol that aimed to stop President Joe Biden from taking office in 2020.
JAN. 6 FOOTAGE IN PROUD BOYS TRIAL SHOWS RAY TESTIFIES IN HIS OWN DEFENSED RIOTERS
“It was Donald Trump’s words,” said Nayib Hassan, Tarrio’s lawyer, during closing remarks. “It was his anger that caused what occurred on Jan. 6 in your amazing and beautiful city.”
Prosecutors agreed that Trump was partly to blame for the insurrection on Jan. 6, but they said the Proud Boys were motivated by Trump’s words to enact violence.
“These defendants saw themselves as Donald Trump’s army, fighting to keep their preferred leader in power no matter what the law or the courts had to say about it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Conor Mulroe said on Monday.
As of March, prosecutors have charged over 1,000 people in connection to the riot. The trial of Tarrio and former Proud Boys Ethan Nordean, Joe Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola is in the spotlight. The men face more than 20 years in prison.
The Justice Department has also secured convictions of 14 Oath Keepers members and affiliates, another far-right extremist group, for various felonies occurring on Jan. 6.
Since the trial began in January, the jury has heard testimony from over 50 people, including two of the defendants, Rehl and Pezzola. The trial has shed light on previously unknown information about the insurrection, including new video footage of Ray Epps, a fellow rioter who became the center of right-wing conspiracy theories.
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Text messages were revealed in court that showed exchanges between Tarrio and Shane Lamond, a Washington police officer. The two were exchanging information in the weeks leading up to the attack.
“It was not Enrique Tarrio. They want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald Trump and those in power,” Hassan said.
